reviews, releases and recommendations of LGBT media
By happy coincidence (or not, you decide), our rec list today comes on the heels of some twitter discourse stemming from an opinion that is—how to put this politely—really fucking stupid. And because of that opinion, in addition to making sure that each of these books is gay, today I’ve challenged* myself to not include a single cis white man!
*It’s not really a challenge.
You can also find part one of this list here. And, handily, you can find a massive thread of recs here!
I think we can all agree that books including sports in any way, be it a romance between two teammates or the main character running marathons, just somehow hit harder. Sometimes they’re truly all you need in life! Which is why I’m here with ten sports books.
Anyway, I hope no one is surprised that more than half of this list are YA books…
Today’s post is a new addition to our myriad of releases posts! If you’re looking for books for age groups younger than young adult, perhaps even for small children, then trust me, this is exactly what you’ve been waiting for. A round-up of all the middle grade and picture book releases of 2021! It’s a little delayed, it’s true, partly because we decided to do this post on a whim, but it’s here! And there’s so many exciting books on offer!
Today’s post is part of a blog blast to celebrate the release of Lana Harper’s John Tucker Must Die inspired fantasy romcom, Payback’s a Witch. Also known as the most perfect read for spooky season. And you can read it right away, there’s no need to wait! But if you’re not quite convinced yet, let us help you with that…
And don’t forget to follow Lana on twitter too!
Emmy Harlow is a witch but not a very powerful one—in part because she hasn’t been home to the magical town of Thistle Grove in years. Her self-imposed exile has a lot to do with a complicated family history and a desire to forge her own way in the world, and only the very tiniest bit to do with Gareth Blackmoore, heir to the most powerful magical family in town and casual breaker of hearts and destroyer of dreams.
But when a spellcasting tournament that her family serves as arbiters for approaches, it turns out the pull of tradition (or the truly impressive parental guilt trip that comes with it) is strong enough to bring Emmy back. She’s determined to do her familial duty; spend some quality time with her best friend, Linden Thorn; and get back to her real life in Chicago.
On her first night home, Emmy runs into Talia Avramov—an all-around badass adept in the darker magical arts—who is fresh off a bad breakup . . . with Gareth Blackmoore. Talia had let herself be charmed, only to discover that Gareth was also seeing Linden—unbeknownst to either of them. And now she and Linden want revenge. Only one question stands: Is Emmy in?
But most concerning of all: Why can’t she stop thinking about the terrifyingly competent, devastatingly gorgeous, wickedly charming Talia Avramov?
Lana Harper
Rep: bi mc, Russian American bi li
Release: 5th October 2021
It’s a companion post of sorts to one of my previous rec lists, where I recommended people books based on their favourite Richard Siken quotes. This time the quotes are lesbian, though.
The idea is very simple: I asked our followers on twitter to choose their most beloved quote by Mary Oliver (which isn’t easy, I know!) & then tried to figure out what book does it remind me of. Sometimes based on vibes alone, sometimes based more on the plot. So let’s go.
I’m sure this next book is one you’ve all been highly anticipating (and if not, why not?). It’s also coming out at the perfect time for Halloween and all things spooky! If you want a book that’ll scare you out of your wits (and I’m not just saying this as a certified wimp), then this is the book for you.
So, sit back, give Alison a follow on twitter, and get yourself ready for the perfect spooky season read!
Debut voice Alison Ames delivers with a chilling, feminist thriller, perfect for fans of Wilder Girls and Sawkill Girls.
Moon Basin has been haunted for as long as anyone can remember. It started when an explosion in the mine killed sixteen people. The disaster made it impossible to live in town, with underground fires spewing ash into the sky. But life in New Basin is just as fraught. The ex-mining town relies on its haunted reputation to bring in tourists, but there’s more truth to the rumors than most are willing to admit, and the mine still has a hold on everyone who lives there.
Clem and Nina form a perfect loop—best friends forever, and perhaps something more. Their circle opens up for a strange girl named Lisey with a knack for training crows, and Piper, whose father is fascinated with the mine in a way that’s anything but ordinary. The people of New Basin start experiencing strange phenomena—sleepwalking, night terrors, voices that only they can hear. And no matter how many vans of ghost hunters roll through, nobody can get to the bottom of what’s really going on. Which is why the girls decide to enter the mine themselves.
Alison Ames
Rep: lesbian mc, bi li
CWs: animal death, death of a parent, gore
Release: 21st September 2021
Iron Widow is one of those 2021 debuts that possibly everyone has already heard about it and is (rightly!) excited about, so let us stoke the fires some more with our reviews of this glorious beast of a book. There’s a music mix, too!
And if you want to do yourself a big favour, go ahead & follow Xiran on twitter already!
The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.
To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.
Xiran Jay Zhao
Rep: Chinese-coded cast, bi mcs, polyamory
CWs: gore, murder, torture, mentions of rape, threats of rape, misogyny, femicide, suicide ideation, abuse, alcohol addiction
Release: 21st September 2021
There’s something about a good histrom that just perfectly scratches a certain itch for me. And once I find an author whose books I enjoy, I will binge their entire backlist. That being said, it’s still an area where, at least in tradpub, it’s very cishet and white. So, here I’ve done my utmost to find you 10 recs that are very much not cishet (although they do remain quite white, so if anyone has recs of their own, please do drop them in the comments!). For that time when you just need a good histrom.
In a shocking move, Anna is not the one behind today’s film & tv rec list. Namely because Anna does not watch crime dramas, but I do, and I have been craving gay crime dramas above all. So, here are the fruits of my research, to share with you. A little confession though: I haven’t really…finished all of these shows, so some of the CWs may be lacking (I’ll come back to update when I do, for now I’ve made notes of when they cover up to, episode-wise. The number episode will be the last I watched), because apparently I have such little staying power even for shows I’m really enjoying… Who knew.
Before we get into the rec list proper though, I do want to note that there is a sad lack of trans rep in it. That’s because I had three (apparently insurmountable) standards for reccing trans rep in crime dramas: 1) that the actor is also trans, 2) that the trans character is not a murder victim and/or does not die horribly, and 3) the trans character is not the murderer and/or a psychopath. Maybe I should lower my standards next time.
However, I did come across a couple that fitted some of those categories, which I’ll share with you here if you really want to watch them: Bellevue (trans character played by a trans actor, but is the murder victim—although she is properly developed as a character and is given screentime, if that decides you) and Big Sky (trans side character played by a nonbinary actor, but seems minor).
And finally, because it’s just occurred to me, a note on CWs: I’ve tried to add all I’ve noticed while watching, but I feel there also needs to be a general one here, for the types of things you generally see in crime dramas (i.e. dead bodies, gore, autopsies).
Specific labels may vary but all the books in this post have achillean main characters & are written by achillean authors. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t be reading m/m books which aren’t, roughly speaking, ownvoices. Rather, a place to celebrate the few that are.
Of course, I’m only human, so if you spot any mistakes or missing titles, let me know!
Taking a break from making very niche rec lists for a super specific trope used in an even more specific genre! So instead, I’m here today with books from various genres, featuring an even bigger array of tropes, but all of them sharing a specific representation. And yeah, the title gives it away, I know; it’s not a surprise all the books listed below have main characters who are on the asexuality spectrum. Hopefully, the selection is broad enough that everyone finds something for themself!
This idea is sort of born of this thread (which was a great thread, if I do say so myself, so there’s a little bit of overlap in some signs…but I’ve mostly tried to add new books), but I decided I wanted to turn it into a blog post featuring all LGBT books, instead of solely sapphic ones. And here we are! This post contains thirty six books, one for the sun, moon & rising for each sign. So, if you’re looking for a way to create a little fun TBR, look no further!
Of course, I couldn’t start this post without having mentioned Anaïs, who is vastly more knowledgeable of astrology than me, and who helped a lot with fitting the right books in.
Want to skip to your sign?
I’m sure you’re just as excited about this book as we were when we first heard about it. Firstly, it’s Gabriela Martins! (And if you don’t know just how much we love her on this blog, we interviewed her way back & featured her guest post in our one year anniversary celebration.) Secondly, who doesn’t love fake dating? So if you’re looking for a summery read (whether it’s summer where you are, or you wish it was), then this book will be for you.
This debut paperback original romance follows a Latina teen pop star whose image takes a dive after a messy public breakup, until she’s set up with a swoon-worthy fake boyfriend.
Fake boyfriend. Real heartbreak?
Natalie is living her dream: topping the charts and setting records as a Brazilian pop star…until she’s dumped spectacularly on live television. Not only is it humiliating—it could end her career.
Her PR team’s desperate plan? A gorgeous yet oh-so-fake boyfriend. Nati reluctantly agrees, but William is not what she expected. She was hoping for a fierce bad boy—not a soft-hearted British indie film star. While she fights her way back to the top with a sweet and surprisingly swoon-worthy boy on her arm, she starts to fall for William—and realizes that maybe she’s the biggest fake of them all. Can she reclaim her voice and her heart?
Gabriela Martins
Rep: Brazilian mc, Jewish bisexual li, lesbian Pakistani American side character, bisexual Brazilian American side character
Release: 3rd August 2021
A companion post to the one from the beginning of the year. Over 100 books with canon bisexual and/or pansexual protagonists. Or love interests. Or really major side characters.
My guidelines for choosing books to include in this post were pretty simple: either a character just uses the label or the text makes it abundantly clear that they’re bi/pan. (As you can imagine, not a lot of fantasy or historical books use modern labels.) If I missed anything that you think should be on the list, please let me know in the comments!
Like always on this blog, the rainbow emoji indicates that the book is by an LGBT author. 🌈
Hopefully July is treating you all well so far (I’m sat here, watching torrential rain)! Today’s post is one that, with luck, you’ve all been anticipating. Anna posted about YA releases on Friday, and now I’m posting about the sapphic releases of the second half of 2021 (bi releases will be up in a few days too, so keep an eye out!). Not all of these have sapphic main characters, but they do feature (to the best of my knowledge) somewhat prominent sapphic characters at least.
You can, of course, find January to June’s releases here.
Undoubtedly I have missed books (we all know that, as soon as I post this, there’ll be five more to add, minimum), so I’ll be checking back on the post pretty regularly to add more.
